People · United States
James Burns
2×2 · top 15.2% of 186,767 all-time · competing since February 2024 · 2024BURN02
James Burns has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 3.08, set at Lewis Center Side Events 2026, puts him in the top 15.2% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 5,943rd in the United States. Across 8 competitions since February 2024, he has put 159 official solves on the record across six events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 67% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 2×2 best has come down from 4.00 in February 2024 to 3.08, a 23% improvement. James has entered eight competitions, more competitions than 90% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 3.08 | 4.80 | top 15.2% | 5,943 / 40,951 | |
| Skewb | 5.45 | 11.69 | top 21.6% | 3,444 / 18,907 | |
| Pyraminx | 6.79 | 9.03 | top 26.1% | 7,171 / 28,708 | |
| 3×3 | 16.25 | 20.18 | top 28.6% | 15,685 / 59,724 | |
| Clock | 17.36 | 26.16 | top 56.7% | 4,713 / 8,927 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 1:03.55 | — | early days — 2 solves | 12,949 / 15,683 |
Percentile against all competitors ever ranked in each event, a fairer measure than raw rank, because the pools differ by a factor of ten.
The line so far
Best single per competition, 2×2. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.
The story so far
- 6 Apr 2024First sub-20 3×3: 16.74 at Plum Puzzles 2024.
- 17 Feb 2024First competition: Eastwood Cubing 2024. A 21.36 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Northern Tier Twist 2026 · 25 Apr 2026
- Cube Against Cancer Pittsburgh 2026 · 28 Mar 2026
- Lewis Center Side Events 2026 · 31 Jan 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Steel City Sprint PA 2026 · 24 Jan 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Cubes in the Mountains WV 2025 · 15 Mar 2025
- Pittsburgh Winter 2025 · 15 Feb 2025
- Plum Puzzles 2024 · 6 Apr 2024 — 2 personal bests set
- Eastwood Cubing 2024 · 17 Feb 2024
Reading this page: a single is one solve's time · an average is the middle three of five solves, best and worst discarded · a PB is a personal best · a DNF (did not finish) is an attempt with no valid result: a popped piece, an unsolved face, an over-limit memorisation · top X% compares against everyone ever ranked in that event, which is fairer than raw rank because event pools differ tenfold.
The circuit
The people whose scorecards keep turning up next to his.
- Emmett Dunn — met in 28 rounds, finished ahead 4 times
- Krishna Joyce — met in 27 rounds, never finished ahead
- Xavier Ye — met in 26 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-3 2×2 single — 26,570 people have one; it is 0.08 away.
- A sub-5 Skewb single — 13,285 people have one; it is 0.45 away.
Targets move as he improves.